The present invention relates to a technology for the representation of hyper-edges in a graph-oriented process meta model of a Workflow-Management-Systems or a computer system with comparable functionality (WFMS).
Workflow-Management-Systems (WFMS) support the definition and execution of business processes. Business processes executed within a WFMS environment control who will perform which piece of work of a network of pieces of work and which resources are exploited for this work. The individual pieces of work might be distributed across a multitude of different computer systems connected by some type of network.
Such WFMS implement a particular meta model for modeling business processes. The most prominent meta model is the graph-oriented process meta model, implemented for example by IBM MQSeries Workflow. It supports the modeling of business processes as a network of activities. This network of activities, the process model, is constructed as a directed, acrylic, weighted, colored graph. The nodes of the graph represent the activities, which are performed. The edges of the graph, the control connectors, describe the potential sequence of execution of the activities. Definition of the process graph is via IBM MQSeries Workflow's Flow Definition Language (FDL) or via the built-in graphical editor. The runtime component of the Workflow-Management-System uses said process model as a template to create process instances.
Different meta models for modeling of business processes have been developed within the state of the art though it finally turned out that the graph-oriented meta model is the most expressive one providing the richest set of modeling constructs. This fact created the problem that some modeling constructs, which are available within the graph-oriented meta model, cannot be translated to other WFMS meta models. Especially the modeling construct of a so-called sphere, could not be translated satisfactory in a workable implementation within other WFMS meta models. Spheres are defined as a set of activities within the process model, that means a sub-graph of the process model. Spheres are modeling constructs to establish a common context or goal for the individual activities within said sphere.
Thus there is a need in the state of the art for providing realizations of advanced modeling constructs within WFMS meta models which maybe realized in almost any WFMS.